Patterned rug and method of making the same



I P. c. wAlTE `PATTERNED RUG AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Filed 001'.. 11, 1930 vPatented '.Nov. 14,l 1933 PATENT OFFICE PATTERNED RUG AND METHOD F MAKING 'EHE SAME Philip C. Waite, Oshkosh, Wis., assgnor to Waite Carpet Company, Oshkosh, Wis., a. corporation of Wisconsin Application October 11,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to patterned rugs and method of making the same.

The present invention has reference to the method of making a patterned rug in which the 5 pileis formed by closely spaced rows which are stitched through a ground fabr'ic to form loops on the upper or exposed side of the rug, which loops are cut and spread to form tufts which intermesh with one another to furnish the pile of the rug. In the making of rugs of this character where a pattern is desired, it has been customary in the past to either stitch in the ground color up to the margin of the space allotted to the pattern and thereafter ll in the pattern by stitching of l5 the appropriate color, or to reverse the operation and stitch in the pattern first and after- Wards-the ground stitching, or in other words to conne the stitching in each instance to the particular space allotted to the intended color in the completed rug.

This method of forming rugs is objectionable, in that it requires very careful stitching, particularly Where the pattern is of irregular configuration, in order to confine the colors tothe intended areas. This method is very wasteful of time, in that it requires rows of stitching of varying lengths with numerous starts and stops to fill in small rows, with the attendant frequent repositioning of the rug to start and stop the rows of stitching at the intended points.

The object of the present invention is to greatly speed up the rug making operations by completely covering the rug with a ground stitching, which is applied in long rows of uniform length, and

" thereafter stitch in the pattern over the completed ground in such a way that the pattern stitching will spread or distend the ground stitching and obliterate and conceal the4 ground stitching throughout the patterned area.

Where the pattern consists in single lines of stitching, these llines will be interspersed through the ground stitching, and the tufts thus applied will spread or distend the ground stitching so that the same will not be visible through the lines of the pattern. l

Where the pattern consists in several contiguous rows of stitching, so thatthe ground tufts cannot be completely distended to vacate the space occupied by the tufts composing the pattern, a solid color eiect within the pattern portion of the rug surface can be obtained by making the pattern tufts slightly longer than the ground tufts, thereby giving an embossed effect and causing the ends of the pattern tufts to extend above and thereby practically conceal the 1930. Serial No. 488,150

ground color throughout the pattern area. If desired, however, the embossed eiect can be secured even though single lines of stitching are employed to provide the pattern. l

It is preferred to make thepattern lines in smaller or closer stitching than the stitching which affords the ground color, sothat -the pattern lines or stripes will more perfectly ll the -space allotted to the pattern and spread or distend the ground stitching upon which the pattern stitching is superposed. This method of producing the rug is particularly effective in cases where the pattern consists in single rows of stitching superposed upon the ground stitching, since the exposed upper ends of 70 the tufts constituting the pile, when spread or distended, will provide a pattern line of substantial width, thereby producing a highly pleasing and desirable patterned effect which can be applied very rapidly and without the exercise of extreme care or skill on the part of the operator.

Furthermore, the method is one which permits the ground stitching to be rapidly and uniformly applied to a large number of rugs by the use of methods or machines adapted to stitch several parallel rows of stitching concurrently and under uniform conditions, after which the rugs thus stitched with the ground color can be individually decorated with the pattern, which easily allows variation of the pattern, as applied to rugs having 85 a uniform ground color.

In order to more fully illustrate the method of the present invention and the nature of the rug produced in conformity therewith, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, wherein,-

Figure 1 is a view showing the corner of a rug and indicating the nature of the tufting applied;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view, showing how the tufting for the pattern is applied, where the pattern consists in but a single row of stitching;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a pattern formed in relief and consisting of several contiguous rows of stitching; and l Fig. 4 is a view of the reverse side of the rug, showing how the lines of stitching composing the pattern are superposed across the lines of stitching composing the ground color.

The stitching is preferably performed on a machine of the general type illustrated and described in co-pending application, Serial No. 432,- 455, filed March 1, 1930. ,The stitching is applied to a ground fabric A of the size and shape of the intended rug, and the ground color consists of closely spaced lines of parallel stitching 11( B which preferably extend from end to end of the rug and afford a uniform ground for the application of the design.

Of course, lif desired, certain of the rows of the ground stitching may be varied in color to produce border lines or stripes or other variations, but in general the ground will be afforded by uniform lines of stitching which extend from end to end of the rug or from side to side of the rug, and of a character which may be easily and rapidly applied without difficulty, although, as before stated, certain elements of design, such as uniform borders and the like, may be applied in the formation of the ground stitching.

The rows of stitching are applied in such a way as to provide loops which are cut and distended to form ground tufts C constituting the pile surface of the rug. After the rug has been stitched in the manner indicated, it is in condition to receive the design, which constitutes the particular feature of the present invention.

The design is formed by providing a row or rows of stitching D which are superposed upon and ex-y tend across or in any suitable relation to the rows of stitching composing the ground color. The rows of stitching constituting the design are preferably formed of shorter stitches, and the tufts thus' introduced into the rug will spread or distend the tufts of the ground stitching and thus occupy the space allotted to the pattern. Where the pattern consists of a single row of stitches thus introduced, the tufts may be of the same length as the tufts composing the ground surface, and the patterned tufts will thus introduce the color allotted to the pattern without interference from the ground tufts; but where it is desired to produce a broader pattern effect than is possible by the use of a single row of stitching in forming the pattern, several contiguous rows may be applied as in Fig. 3, to ll up a considerable area with the color allotted to the pattern, and in this case and in order to more fully conceal the interspersed tufts of the ground stitching, the pattern tufts may be made longer as indicated in Fig. 3, to produce an embossed or relief effect and thereby extend above and conceal the interspersed rows of the ground stitching. `Obviously, if desired, single rows of stitching may be made of a length to afford a relief pattern effect which may be deemed desirable or attractive in some circumstances.

In cases where the pattern color is intended to occupy a considerable area and where a multi plicity of rows of stitching are necessary to produce the pattern effect, it may be desirable ythroughout, the area allotted to the pattern color to trim down the ground tufts below the general level of the rug surface, so that the rows of pattern stitching when applied will more completely conceal the effects of the ground stitching, and this whether or not the embossed effect is desired.

The invention is one which is capable of variousy modifications in detail, but in general consists in superposing the pattern stitching` in such a way that within the space allotted to the pattern color, whether in one row or more, the pattern tufts will either exclusively occupy theA space or stand above and conceal the effects of the ground stitching. n

Of course, it is not essential in all cases that the ground stitching be completely concealed -throughout the area allotted to the pattern, since pleasing effects may be secured in some cases where the ground stitching is permitted to display itself in interspersed relation throughout the tufts aording the pattern. The invention, however, is peculiarly applicable to cases where the ground is afforded by stitching which may be applied in regular lines or parallel rows of stitching and where the pattern effect is irregular, andv is obtained by superposed rows of stitching directed in zigzag or curving lines conformable to the irregular contour of the pattern, which may present decorative features such as flowers, stars, geometrical designs, or other patterns of a more or less irregular character.

Although the employment of the present method requires the use of slightly more material in the stitching of the rug, nevertheless this slight increase is far more than compensated for by the saving in time and labor. Experience has shown that by the older methods employed,of starting and stopping the -ground stitching in order to avoid the area to be occupied by the pattern, a great amount of time was wasted in. comparison with the present method which permits the ground stitching to be run uniformly from end to end of the rug without the exercise of care in the avoidance of the pattern areas. At the same time, the present method permits more decorative and more complex designs to be employed with more variation in color effect than would be practical by the old method at substantially the same cost of production.

An additional advantage in the present method is due to the fact that in working out designs more value can be put into the rug because the working in of the design adds material to the rug, and at the same time the cross stitching of the pattern serves in a measure to integrate or bind together the lines of ground stitching in an advantageous manner.

In most cases, the ground pile will be produced in single color effects and the pattern in contrasting colors, although, of course, anyV desired color scheme can be employed, and if desired the same colors can be used for the pattern, and the embossed effect can be relied upon to give suitable definition to the patterned rows.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a rug comprising a ground fabric having an allover ground pile composed of substantially parallel rows of cut and distended tufts, said tufts being connected through the ground fabric at the back thereof by rows of tuft producing stitches, and means producing a line pattern or design effect in the unidirectional ground pile comprising a row of similar tufts connected by tuft producing stitches extending through the ground fabric from the back thereof,- said latter line of tuft producing stitches extending over and intersecting the ground pile producing stitches on the back of said ground fabric, whereby an allover tufted pile surface is presented having a surface design predominantly uninterrupted by the tufts of the first applied parallel rows of ground tuft stitching.

2. The method of making tufted fabrics or rugs which comprises producing closely arranged rows of individual cut and distended tufts by applying closely arranged parallel rows of tuft producing stitches stitched through the back of a base fabric producing an allover tufted pile surface, and then applying a design row of cut tufts by similar tuftI stitching stitched through the back of the base fabric over and intersecting the stitches of the aforementioned series of parallel rows, whereby an allover tufted surface having a surface line 150 base fabric and in intersecting relation to a plurality of the first mentioned rows of tuft stitching, and in cutting the stitches of the last applied row to spread the tops thereof to form tufts composing said row and thereby displacing and crowding back the contiguous ground tufting by the introduction of said last applied line of tufting inthe formation of an unbroken pattern line of width represented by the spread tops of the last applied row of pattern tuft stitching'.

PHILIP C. WAITE. 

